Despite having a passion for food, working in a kitchen for two years and being English, I’m ashamed to say I had never cooked a roast dinner until Christmas 2016. Naturally, my first effort would involve attempting to cook one entirely on a barbecue in the Peneda-Geres national park, Portugal.

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I’ll say this now so as not to disappoint anyone – it was a vegetarian affair. Please don’t let that deter you from having a read, though, as a former lover of meat I can assure you it was far from tasteless and even further from disappointment. From delightfully roasted veggies to crispy, fluffy yorkies, I’ll show you how we managed to cook a full roast dinner on a barbie with just a few pans and a roasting tray.

The Menu:

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Smoked vegetarian hot dogs

Seitan slices in gravy

Cheesy leeks

Roasted potatoes

Roasted carrots with garlic and rosemary

Sesame-fried Kale

Yorkshire puddings

Sage and onion Stuffing

The Tools:

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1 medium roasting tray

2 mini roasting trays

1 griddle

1 Mixing bowl

2 large sauscepans

1 small saucepan

1 large frying pan

1 dutch oven (we used a wok but would recommend something without a glass lid)

Cheesy leeks

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Ingredients:

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4 leeks, chopped

50g butter

50g plain flour

450ml milk

150g grated Cheddar

25g parmesan

1tbsp english mustard

Sriacha, dash of

3 bay leaves

Nutmeg, pinch of

Method:

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Cut off the tops and tails of the leeks then cut them into thumb-sized pieces.

Bring a pan to the boil on the fire and simmer the leeks for 10 minutes.

Drain and place in mixing bowl.

Wipe out the saucepan and melt the butter in it.

Remove from heat and add flour. Once mixed, return to fire and slowly add milk until you achieve a creamy roux.

Add cheese, nutmeg, bay leaves, sriachi and mustard.

Stir until cheese has melted, add leeks and season to taste.

Set aside in saucepan to be reheated later.

Order of preperation:

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Boil potatoes, drain and leave to one side. Re-using the saucepan, cook the cheesy leeks following the instructions below. Once finished, leave to one side.

Using the mixing bowl, follow instructions for the yorkshire pudding batter. Whilst doing this, heat up your dutch oven on the fire. Leave the potatoes and carrots on the fire. rest the batter whilst your oven heats up (30 mins).

Heat oil in the baking trays. Pour the batter mix in to the miniature baking trays. When the dutch oven is up to an appropriate temperature, place the baking trays inside and quickly close the lid. The Yorkshire puddings should take around 30 minutes to cook. Your potatoes and carrots should be finished by this stage too. Leave them wrapped up to ensure they stay warm and continue infusing.

In a small saucepan, bring 150ml water to the boil over the fire. Mix in one stock cube and a dash of soy sauce. In a small bowl, add a heaped teaspoon of corn flour and a drop of water and mix into a paste. add the flour mix slowly to the gravy until a thick consistency is met, whisking constantly.